When Are You Considered an “Expert Witness”?
As you accumulate course work, conferences, training, and experience during your professional career, it is natural to ask whether and when you can be considered an expert and be tendered as an expert witness in the courtroom. These are important questions as they define a significant progression in your qualifications and career. The...
Reverse Projection Photogrammetry: When is Measurement Uncertainty an Issue of Admissibility?
A home security video surveillance system captured relevant events that transpired outside the home before and after two murders were committed nearby. Of note, it recorded images of a person walking and carrying what appeared to be a shotgun. The facial features and race of the person of interest were not discernible due...
Who is Qualified to Express an Opinion on Image Comparison?
A fundamental question in the forensic process of image comparison is what qualifies a proposed expert to express such an opinion for the court’s consideration. Various contenders ranging from people with no qualifications whatsoever, to wedding videographers, production video specialists, experts from the non-imaging world, and certified forensic video analysts have appeared in...
State Supreme Court Rules on Admissibility of Expert Motion Tracking Evidence
In dynamic video-recorded scenes where several people move around within the frame and from camera to camera it can be difficult to accurately track the movement of individuals. This makes it challenging for the trier of fact to understand what is happening generally and to differentiate the actions attributed to each individual. Motion...
Canadian Court Restricts Evidence of Forensic Video Analyst in Murder Trial
In preparation for a Canadian homicide prosecution, a forensic video analyst performed several technical and analytical processes on video images that captured relevant events. The defence objected to most of the work performed by the analyst and in a pre-trial motion during which the analyst gave extensive testimony, the trial judge ruled on...
The Pedagogical Expert Witness: Teaching Complex Science in the Courtroom
The following article, applicable to experts in all areas of expertise, was written by me in conjunction with my Courtroom Testimony for Expert Witnesses course and will soon be published in the Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal. It will be available on an Open Access basis and once published, it will be...
Image Technology and Visual Literacy Issues in the Rittenhouse Trial
The November 2021 trial in State of Wisconsin v. Rittenhouse garnered significant media attention across the United States, in part because of its rather sensational facts, and in part because it was televised. Some interesting video technology and visual literacy issues arose during the trial that have allowed for some reflection and commentary...
Image Comparison Evidence in the UK: Have Things Changed?
I research, write, and lecture about international imagery law. In preparation for upcoming courses in the UK this summer, I was reviewing recent case law and came across a March 2022 case from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) that piqued my interest. It is consistent with previous case law but appears to...
Recent Canadian Cases on Image Interpretation
Several times a year I conduct a comprehensive search of recent reported case law on topics related to video evidence, forensic video analysis, and pertinent expert witness testimony issues. This provides me with new case law that illustrates how courts are assessing and deciding relevant litigated issues on these topics. This article focuses...
The Search for the Truth in Images Requires Competent Experts, Forensic Tools, and Counsel
The recent (November 2021) high profile American murder prosecution (State of Wisconsin v. Rittenhouse) has garnered considerable media attention, primarily because of the polarizing views on the propriety of Rittenhouse shooting people and then claiming self-defence as the justification for doing so. The purpose of this article is not to weigh in on...